Truck bed cover

ABSTRACT

A rigid cover assembly for covering the rear cargo compartment of a pickup truck. There is a top plastic sheet that may have an acrylic surface placed over it for improved visual appearance. A bottom plastic sheet conforms to the shape of the top plastic sheet and is joined around the perimeter to the top plastic sheet. There is a fiberglass layer that is placed on the inside surface of the top and bottom plastic sheets that provides a bonding means for attaching a honeycomb structural layer to the fiberglass layers. This provides light weight structural strength to the cover. The honeycomb that is attached to the plastic sheets reduces wetness marks.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority of provisional patentapplication 60/724,475 filed Oct. 06, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to structural panels and more particularly totonneau covers for the cargo compartment of pickup trucks.

Pickup trucks have rectangular shaped beds at the rear of the vehicle,generally with a pivoting tailgate that pivots downwardly and in arearward direction to a flat, horizontal plane that is generally in thesame plane as the floor of the bed. Pickup trucks are used for numerouspurposes for hauling all types of articles, that vary in size, shape andweight. At times it is beneficial that the bed be covered to protect thearticles being transported.

Various covers have been used in the past. There are essentially twotypes of tonneau covers, flexible and rigid. One type is comprised offlexible covers including canvas, other fabrics and flexible vinylcovers. The flexible cover is secured to the pickup truck by ropes,flexible cords and other straps that are secured by hooks, ties, snapsand other fasteners or attached to frames that are mounted on the pickuptruck. A disadvantage of these types of covers is that they areextremely time consuming to put in place and secure to the truck, with asimilar amount of time required to remove them. Due to the flexiblecharacteristics of the cover, they can allow water to pool in low spots,rather than run off and onto the ground. Due to their lack of structuralstrength, they do not permit the user to install other items, such asracks, onto the flexible cover and provide minimum security.

As an alternative to a flexible cover, a second type of tonneau coverhas gained popularity. These are rigid covers comprised of one piecerigid covers and multi-piece sectional rigid covers. Fiberglass, metaland rigid plastic covers have been introduced and are usually pivotallyconnected to a frame or brackets mounted to the front and sides of thepickup truck bed. These allow the user to raise the cover from the rearof the bed, place the items in the bed, and lower the cover to protectthe items. Generally hinges or other connectors are used to connect thecover to the truck bed or truck body. These connections are not readilyor easily removed if the cover is to be removed for additional storagespace. A disadvantage of these types of covers is their weight and thedurability of the aesthetics of their top surface. Another disadvantageis complexity of installing and aligning the frame or brackets to thepickup truck bed.

Many of the rigid covers are made of two joined pieces or shells ofplastic, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,310 issued to Myers.This patent illustrates a plastic cover that has supporting orreinforcing ribs placed across the bottom side of the cover. This designhas several disadvantages that are found in all covers using asupporting ribbed structure. One disadvantage is that when a user wantsto add an option or attachment to the cover, the mounting is made moredifficult due to the rib structure. In all other areas of the cover, thethickness of the sheet precludes making a strong and solid attachment.Depending on where the attachment is made, a bolt, screw, or otherfastener may be passing through only a thin portion of the cover orcould be passing through the top surface and the generally hollow ribstructure. Thus, the user is restricted to where he or she can mount theaccessory.

Another disadvantage of this type of plastic tonneau construction isthat it requires some form of reinforcing rib on the underside of thecover for structural rigidity. An example of this is seen in U.S. Pat.No. 6,340.194 issued to Muirhead et al. This patent illustrates a covermade from two sheets of heat deformable plastic material instead ofusing fiberglass reinforced plastic. The bottom panel has reinforcingribs for additional strength. This reinforcing structure creates lines(“witness marks”) that are easily or at least partially visible to theobserver on the top side of the cover. In extreme temperatures or whencondensate forms due to humidity and temperature changes, the lines onthe cover are even more obvious.

This type of plastic tonneau also has a non uniform, and generally notsmooth under surface due to the reinforcing rib structure. If theunderside is not smooth, it makes it difficult to satisfactorily attachcarpet or other sheet materials to the under or bottom surface and alsomakes it difficult to mount accessories. These materials are preferablymaintained flat against the underside of the cover for appearancereasons.

Yet another disadvantage of the two piece ribbed designs that have largeareas between places where the two pieces are bonded together, is thatdifferential thermal expansion and contraction on the top cover pieceoften causes cracking, peeling, bowing or other deformation of othersurface imperfections, of paint applied to the top surface. Thisconstruction has large areas on the top shell that are not rigidlybonded to the bottom shell. The non bonded areas of the top shellthermally expand and contract at a different rate than the areas of thetop shell that are bonded to the bottom shell. This thermal expansionand contraction result in cracking and bowing which lead to cracking andpeeling of the paint on the top surface of the top shell and otherundesirable surface effects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Applicant's invention is a two-piece cover that is constructed from atop and a bottom shell. The top is made from a co-extruded sheet with anacrylic or thermoplastic polyolefin top layer over a PC/ABS layer orother suitable material. The bottom shell is made of PC/ABS with UVstabilizers. There is a honeycomb structure between the top and bottomshell. A layer of resin is applied to the inside of the top and bottomshells. Then a layer of fiberglass is placed between the layers of resinand the top and bottom shells are joined together with the honeycombstructure securely mounted between the shells and the outer perimeter ofthe two shells is bonded together with an adhesive.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

It is an object of the invention to provide a lightweight pickup truckcover that is made from a top and bottom shell with a honeycombstructure disposed between the two layers. It is another object toprovide a cover that securely bonds the honeycomb structure to the topand bottom shells so that the bond will not easily be broken. A relatedobject is to provide a cover that has sound deadening properties due tothe creation of dead air space between the two layers.

It is another object to provide a cover that has a first fiberglasslayer disposed between the top cover and the honeycomb structure and asecond fiberglass layer disposed between the bottom cover and thehoneycomb structure.

It is still another object to provide a cover that has a smooth topsurface and a smooth bottom surface over substantially the entirevisible surfaces of the top and bottom shells.

Still another object is to provide a pickup truck cover that has a highstrength to thickness ratio as compared to prior art covers. A relatedobject is to provide a cover that has sufficient thickness and strengththroughout the cover so that bolts, screws or other fasteners can passthrough the cover to securely attach accessories to the cover at anylocation on the cover.

Yet another object is to provide a pickup truck cover that uniformlysupports the top and bottom shells over numerous supporting points tominimize witness marks on the visible portion of the top shell and tofacilitate painting or the use of molded in colors.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent from thefollowing description of the drawings and description of the preferredembodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of the inventive tonneau coverinstalled on the cargo bed of a pickup truck.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inventive tonneau cover in theopened position.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the inventive tonneau cover withthe cover in the opened position.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the inventive tonneau cover with the cover inthe opened position.

FIG. 5 is a cross section view of the tonneau cover.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross section view of the tonneau cover.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning first to FIG. 1, the inventive tonneau cover 10 is illustratedin its closed position covering the cargo bed of a pickup truck. Thecover 10 has a smooth top surface 12 and an underside smooth surface 13,with side overhanging edges 14 and a rear overhanging edge 16. Grain ortexture can be formed into top surface 12 and top surface 12 can beformed with various surface geometries and patterns. For purposes ofthis patent “smooth outer surface” or “smooth inner surface” means theouter or inner surface of a single sheet of plastic whether or notformed with a grain, texture, or various geometries and patterns. Theoverhanging edges 14, 16 extend over upstanding walls 18 of the truckbed 20 so that water runs off the top 12 and does not enter into thecargo bed. The cover 10 is illustrated in the raised position in FIGS.2-4. Gas charged or air cylinders 22 control the speed at which thecover 10 is raised and lowered. They can also assist in keeping thecover 10 in the raised position until the user desires to lower thecover 10 to cover the truck bed 20. As seen clearly in FIG. 3, there isa strap 24 connected to the cover 10 to assist in pulling the cover 10down to the closed position. The strap 24 is connected to the underside13 of cover 10 with a fastener 26 passing completely through the cover10 to securely fasten the strap 24 to the cover 10. The tonneau cover isthus installed and functions similarly as the tonneau covers of theprior art.

The cover 10 can also be provided with gaskets surrounding the perimeterof the underside 13 of cover 10 or surrounding the top of the upstandingwalls 18. This keeps moisture and other foreign objects from enteringthe cargo bed when the cover 10 is closed. The cover 10 can also beprovided with a locking mechanism to limit access to the cargo bed whenthe cover 10 is closed and the lock engaged.

The structure of the cover 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. There isa top sheet 30 which has an outer surface 30 a exposed to the elementsand visible for observation at all times and an inner surface 30 b. Forthis reason top sheet 30 must be weather and ultraviolet resistant andbe capable of maintaining an attractive painted or molded outer surface30 a even though exposed to the elements. Thus, top sheet 30 isgenerally made from a blend of polycarbonate (referred to as “PC”) andacrylonitrile butadiene styrene (referred to as “ABS”) plastic which hasthese qualities. Alternatively it may have an acrylic or thermoplasticpolyolefin (referred to as “TPO”) surface that is co-extruded overPC/ABS plastic which gives the outer surface 30 a of top sheet 30additional ultraviolet ray resistance and improved colorcharacteristics. It may also have a paint film laminated or co-extrudedover the top sheet 30.

In another embodiment the top sheet may be manufactured from a fiberreinforced plastic sheet which may make it possible to use thinnerplastic having the same qualities and characteristics.

Beneath the top sheet 30 is a fiberglass layer 32. This can be made witha fiberglass mat or a sprayed-in layer of chopped fiberglass. A ¾ ouncefiberglass mat is used in the preferred embodiment. The thickness of thefiberglass layer 32 is approximately 0.015 inches.

Next there is a layer 34 of honeycomb structure. This is preferably aKraft paper product fabricated to form a continuous series of triangularcells, similar in appearance to the cross section view of corrugatedboard. The honeycomb can be supplied by Tricel Honeycomb Corporation,2100 Swanson Court, Gurnee, Ill. 60031 and sold under the trademarkTRICEL. The honeycomb cores are up to 95% open space, with a density ofone to three pounds per cubic foot. The maximum distance between cellwalls should not be greater than five inches in order to providesufficient structural strength. When bonded to a facing material on bothsides, the resulting structure resembles an I-beam in performance andcarries substantial shear, bending and compressive loads. In analternative embodiment the honeycomb structure can be fabricated fromplastic, metal or cardboard or otherwise reinforced for additionalstrength.

The honeycomb 34 can be impregnated with phenolic resin for additionalstrength. The honeycomb is easier to bond to fiber reinforced plasticsand other plastics than other closed cell products such as foam. Thehoneycomb 34 can be easily cut with a knife, band saw, or power saw. Itis very cost effective when compared to other middle layer materialssuch as particleboard, foam, Balsa or plywood. Beneath the honeycombstructure 34 is another layer of fiberglass 36. This is similar to thelayer 32 and preferably identical to the layer 32. Beneath the layer 36is a bottom sheet 38. The bottom sheet 38 is similar to the top sheet 30and generally made of PC/ABS plastic to impart additional strength andtemperature performance. It has an outer surface 38 a and an innersurface 38 b. Additionally, bottom sheet 38 has an up-rolled structure39 near its perimeter for added stiffness.

In order to manufacture the completed tonneau cover 10, the process isas follows. First the top sheet 30 is turned upside down exposing theinner surface 30 b. The outer surface 30 a of the top sheet 30 isprotected so that the outer surface 30 a is not scratched. The innersurface 30 b is sprayed with a polyester resin such as HycrylH515-BCA-08 polyester resin manufactured by AOC located at 950 Highway57 East, Collierville, Tenn. 38071. Next the fiberglass material isapplied. If a fiberglass mat is used, it is layed in on top of thepolyester resin. If the fiberglass is sprayed on, it is applied in therecommended manner on top of the resin. This is followed by anotherapplication of the polyester resin. The fiberglass mat will absorb someof the resin. The honeycomb structure 34 is placed on the fiberglasslayer 32. Another application of the polyester resin is applied to thehoneycomb structure 34. Then a second fiberglass mat 36 is laid in ontop of the honeycomb structure 34. This is followed by anotherapplication of the polyester resin and by applying adhesive to the innersurface 30 b of the perimeter of top sheet 30. Lastly the bottom sheet38 is applied on top of the second fiberglass layer 36 on honeycombstructure 34. The inner surface 38 b comes in contact with the secondfiberglass layer 36. The up-rolled structure 39 in bottom sheet 38provides additional surface for the perimeter adhesive. The entire cover10 is restrained in its final shape until the resin and adhesive reach ahandling cure. The restraint is then removed and the cover 10 is readyfor any final trimming or decorating and assembly.

The improvement of this cover 10 over prior art covers is that the useof the honeycomb with fiberglass layers adds structural strength andtemperature performance to the cover and the addition of the fiberglasslayers 32 and 36 and resin greatly improves the bonding between the topsheet 30 and the honeycomb structure 34 and the honeycomb structure 34and the bottom sheet 38. The fiberglass layers 32 and 36 act as a binderto resist separation of the honeycomb structure 34 from the top sheet 30and the bottom sheet 38, especially in shear mode. This problem is veryapparent when foam is used as a layer between plastic top and bottomsheets.

The center of cover 10 has a final cross sectional thickness rangingfrom approximately 0.625 to 1.125 inches thick, which is comparable toor less than other tonneau covers on the market, having similar strengthqualities. The cover 10 also allows attachment of accessories to thecover over its entire surface as it is uniform in thickness andstrength. For example the strap 24 is attached by the fastener 26 thatpasses through the cover 10 and can be located anywhere on the outersurface 38 a of the bottom layer of cover 10. This is a greatimprovement over prior art devices that only allowed attachment ofaccessories at specific reinforced locations over the surface of thecover.

Thus there has been provided a tonneau cover that fully satisfies theobjects and advantages set forth herein. While the invention has beendescribed in conjunction with a specific embodiment, it is evident thatmany alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent tothose skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description such asusing different shell geometries, different shell materials, differentbonding agents, different bonding layers, different honeycomb geometriesand different honeycomb materials. Accordingly, it is intended toembrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations.

1. A rigid cover assembly for covering the cargo bed of a pickup truck,the rigid cover comprising: a top sheet of plastic having a continuousouter surface and a continuous inner surface, a bottom sheet of plastichaving a continuous smooth outer surface and a continuous inner surface,and a middle layer of honeycomb structure
 2. The rigid cover assembly ofclaim 1 and further comprising first means for attaching the top plasticsheet to the bottom plastic sheet.
 3. The rigid cover of claim 2 whereinthe attaching means is an adhesive.
 4. The rigid assembly of claim 1 andfurther comprising second means for attaching the top plastic sheet tothe middle layer and third means for attaching the bottom plastic sheetto the middle layer.
 5. The rigid assembly of claim 4 wherein the secondand third means for attaching is an adhesive.
 6. The rigid coverassembly of claim 1 wherein the top sheet of plastic has a perimeteredge and the bottom sheet of plastic has a complementary perimeter edge,the perimeter edge and the complimentary edge joined together by anadhesive.
 7. The rigid cover assembly of claim 6 wherein the perimeteredge is a turned down lip that engages the complementary perimeter edgefor providing protection from foreign elements entering the cargo bed.8. The rigid cover assembly of claim 1 wherein the bottom sheet has anup-rolled structure near its perimeter for added stiffness.
 9. A rigidcover assembly for covering the cargo bed of a pickup truck, the rigidcover comprising: a top sheet of plastic having a continuous outersurface and a continuous inner surface, a bottom sheet of plastic havinga continuous smooth outer surface and a continuous inner surface, meansfor attaching the top sheet to the bottom sheet comprising a fiberglasslayer attached to the inner surface of the top sheet and a secondfiberglass layer attached to the inner surface of the bottom sheet, anda middle layer of honeycomb structure attached to the fiberglass layerand the second fiberglass layer for providing lightweight structuralstrength to the rigid cover.
 10. The rigid cover assembly of claim 9wherein the top sheet of plastic has a perimeter edge and the bottomsheet of plastic has a complementary perimeter edge, the perimeter edgeand the complimentary edge joined together by an adhesive.
 11. The rigidcover assembly of claim 9 wherein the bottom sheet has an up-rolledstructure near its perimeter for added stiffness.
 12. The rigid coverassembly of claim 11 wherein the perimeter edge is a turned down lipthat engages the complementary perimeter edge for providing protectionfrom foreign elements entering the cargo bed.
 13. The rigid coverassembly of claim 9 and further comprising a coating of resin disposedbetween the top sheet inner surface and the fiberglass layer.
 14. Therigid cover assembly of claim 9 and further comprising a coating ofresin disposed between the middle layer and the fiberglass layer. 15.The rigid cover assembly of claim 9 and further comprising a coating ofresin disposed between the bottom sheet inner surface and the secondfiberglass layer.
 16. The rigid cover assembly of claim 9 and furthercomprising a coating of resin disposed between the middle layer and thesecond fiberglass layer.
 17. The rigid cover assembly of claim 9 whereinthe honeycomb structure is selected from the group consisting of paper,reinforced paper, cardboard, reinforced cardboard, plastic and metal.18. The rigid cover assembly of claim 9 wherein the fiberglass structureis selected from the group consisting of fiber reinforced plastic,fiberglass mats and sprayed in fiberglass.
 19. The rigid cover assemblyof claim 9 wherein the honeycomb structure has a plurality of edges thatprovide binding locations between the honeycomb and its respective topor bottom sheet to which it is bonded.
 20. The rigid cover assembly ofclaim 9 wherein the top sheet of plastic is made from the groupconsisting of polycarbonate and acrylonitrile, butadiene styrene, fiberreinforced polyethylene, and fiber reinforced thermoplastic polyolefin.21. The rigid cover assembly of claim 9 wherein the bottom sheet ofplastic is made from the group consisting of polycarbonate andacrylonitrile, butadiene styrene, fiber reinforced polyethylene, andfiber reinforced thermoplastic polyolefin
 22. The rigid cover assemblyof claim 9 and further comprising an acrylic surface over the top sheet.23. The rigid cover assembly of claim 9 and further comprising athermoplastic polyolefin surface over the top sheet.
 24. The rigid coverassembly of claim 9 and further comprising a paint film over the topsheet.
 25. A rigid cover assembly for covering the cargo bed of a pickuptruck, the cover comprising: a top sheet of plastic having a smoothouter surface and an inner surface, a bottom sheet of plastic having asmooth outer surface and an inner surface, a fiberglass layer attachedto the inner surface of the top sheet and a second fiberglass layerattached to the inner surface of the bottom sheet, and a honeycombmiddle layer attached to the fiberglass layer and the second fiberglasslayer, the honeycomb layer comprised of a plurality of cells, the cellscomprised of cell walls substantially perpendicular to the top sheet andbottom sheet, the cell walls providing a plurality of joining lines forattaching the honeycomb middle layer to the fiberglass layer forproviding structural strength to the rigid cover.
 26. The rigid coverassembly of claim 25 where in the maximum distance between cell walls isno more than five (5) inches.
 27. The rigid cover assembly of claim 25wherein the top sheet of plastic has a perimeter edge and the bottomsheet of plastic has a complementary perimeter edge, the perimeter edgeand the complimentary edge joined together by an adhesive.
 28. The rigidcover assembly of claim 25 wherein the bottom sheet has an up-rolledstructure near its perimeter for added stiffness.
 29. A method forproviding a reinforced cargo bed cover for a pickup truck comprising thesteps of: forming a top sheet of plastic in a shape to cover the cargobed with a continuous inner surface and a smooth outer surface, forminga bottom sheet of plastic in a shape to conform to the shape of the topsheet with a continuous smooth outer surface and a continuous innersurface, applying a fiberglass layer to the inner surface of the topsheet and a second fiberglass layer to the inner surface of the bottomsheet so that it bonds to its respective inner surface, and attaching ahoneycomb structured middle layer to the fiberglass layer and the secondfiberglass layer thereby joining the top and bottom plastic sheets toeach other.
 30. The method of claim 29 and the further step of providinga perimeter edge around the top sheet and a complimentary perimeter edgearound the bottom sheet, and adhesively joining the perimeter edge tothe complimentary perimeter edge.
 31. The method of claim 30 andproviding the additional step of forming a rolled structure near theperimeter of the bottom sheet for added stiffness.
 32. The method ofclaim 29 and the further step of applying a coating of resin between thetop sheet inner surface and the fiberglass layer.
 33. The method ofclaim 29 and the further step of applying a coating of resin between themiddle layer and the fiberglass layer.
 34. The method of claim 29 andthe further step of applying a coating of resin between the bottom sheetinner surface and the second fiberglass layer.
 35. The method of claim29 and the further step of applying a coating of resin between themiddle layer and the second fiberglass layer
 36. The method of claim 29and the further step of providing an acrylic surface over the top sheet.37. The method of claim 29 and the further step of providing athermoplastic polyolefin over the top sheet.
 38. The method of claim 29and the further step of providing a paint film surface over the topsheet.
 39. A method for providing a reinforced cargo bed cover for apickup truck comprising the steps of: forming a top sheet of plastic ina shape to cover the cargo bed with a continuous inner surface and asmooth outer surface, forming a bottom sheet of plastic in a shape toconform to the shape of the top sheet with a continuous smooth outersurface and a continuous inner surface, and attaching a honeycombstructured middle layer to the top plastic sheet and the bottom plasticsheet thereby joining the top and bottom plastic sheets to each other.